


Sun and Moon

by dezloves, Miasen



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 16:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10468851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dezloves/pseuds/dezloves, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miasen/pseuds/Miasen
Summary: When Sasuke finds a mark on his chest, identical to the one Naruto has carried for years, he isn't overjoyed by the fact that they are soulmates, he is terrified. Terrified that the marks are wrong and Naruto doesn't want him, not like that.





	

**Author's Note:**

> We wrote this for SNS week over on Tumblr, and had a blast doing it!

Sasuke had always noticed it. It had been so innocent looking. Naruto’s soul mate mark took the shape of a sun whose rays were similar to flames, but at the center there was a  half-crescent shape, reminding Sasuke of a moon. The mark that was almost unnoticeable on his blond friend’s tan arm stood out starkly against Sasuke’s pale skin. The mark suddenly lost all its innocence in Sasuke’s mind.

Naruto’s mark had always existed, at least for as long as Sasuke had known the boy. Now, at nearly twenty, Sasuke’s own mark had decided to make an appearance on his chest, a little below his collarbone. In his bathroom mirror Sasuke continued to stare at the mark in amazement, reaching his hands up to touch it before quickly retreating as if the flames from the sun had burned him.

The irony was surreal. Sasuke had come to admire his best friend years ago and that had, no matter how reluctantly, slowly but surely developed into romantic feelings for his friend. Sixteen year old Sasuke had longed for something like this to happen. But those were childish fantasies that the years had driven out of his mind. The Sasuke of today was… well it was complicated. While a small amount of happiness had started to bubble at the sight of his mark and what it ultimately meant, it was quickly crushed and replaced with dread. 

Naruto had only ever showed interest in women as far as Sasuke knew. And Sasuke wouldn’t be the first person to be paired with someone whose preferences didn’t match up with their own. But even with that, there was also the fact that the two boys were so vastly different. In the past that had led to huge blow ups in their friendship and more than once Sasuke was sure that their friendship was at risk of being over. Most of that had been both of their hardheadedness just making things more difficult, and Sasuke knew some of it stemmed from his own personal problems. Actually a lot of it did…

Even if Naruto didn’t care that he was a guy, why would he want someone as fucked up and broken as Sasuke? They both knew he had issues with his self worth and didn’t get along too well with other people. Most of Sasuke’s friends had only been byproducts of his and Naruto’s friendship. And when he had come out to his parents his father had quickly and mercilessly kicked him out and cut him off, causing further emotional problems for the raven. But no matter what Naruto had been there for him and been a great friend to him, and this jeopardized that. He was lucky they were just about to start college at the time and he was already planning on moving into an apartment with Naruto and–

“Oi duck-butt! Quit messing with your hair and hurry up in there! I gotta pee!”

Sasuke startled out of his musings and quickly finished getting dressed. He had just showered when he had looked at the mirror and noticed the mark that had suddenly showed up on his chest who knows when. He made sure his shirt covered the mark and nearly hit Naruto in his rush out of the bathroom and to his room.

The door slammed shut after him, and he pressed his back up against it, hand clutching at his chest where his new mark rested. He listened, not sure if he wanted Naruto to come after him or not, but soon he heard the faint sound of the shower turning on, and he let out a sharp breath, sagging against the wood, eyes clenching shut.

What was he going to do? He couldn’t let Naruto see the mark, that would just ruin everything. Naruto was his friend, and Sasuke knew they could never be more than that. Had always known that, and that was fine, Sasuke didn’t need more than that. Was glad to have that much.

But now they carried matching marks, and Sasuke wasn’t sure what that meant. But he did know that he wouldn’t do anything that could jeopardize their friendship, because nothing was more precious to him.

He’d have to hide the mark, make sure Naruto didn’t see it. It wouldn’t be too hard would it? Naruto carried his mark on his arm, but he had never worried about people seeing it. Sasuke’s was on his chest, it wouldn’t be too hard to hide. It wasn’t like he tended to parade around shirtless anyways, so he would just have to make sure to lock the bathroom door when he showered, wear a t-shirt to bed, and it would be fine. Naruto would never have to know, and they could keep on being friends, just like today.

Sasuke slid down to the floor, back still pressed up against the door. His head hung down, black hair in front of his eyes, fingers tightening in the fabric of his shirt.

He knew getting a soul mate mark was supposed to be a good thing, because soulmates were said to have a bond stronger than any other. But they’d been wrong before, and clearly they were wrong again.

He remembered well how it was back in high school. Naruto spending the majority of his time pining after Sakura, dumb smile on his face as he looked at her from across the classroom, hands folded on his desk and chin perched on top of them, and paying zero attention to their teacher.

Clearly Naruto was as straight as they got, so they’d never be more than friends, and Sasuke had long since settled with that knowledge, but now this mark just came out of nowhere, threatening to ruin everything. Naruto would be so disgusted to know they shared a mark.

Or maybe he wouldn’t be disgusted, that didn’t sound right. He’d pity Sasuke wouldn’t he? And that was almost worse. Naruto would be so nice about it, would pretend that it didn’t matter that it wasn’t Sakura, or some other pretty girl just like her who carried his mark. Pretend that he was happy, and that would be even worse than him being disgusted.

Sasuke huddled in on himself, cursing a world that would make him soulmates with the one person he wanted more than any, and the one person he knew he could never have.

Naruto had been with him through everything. Had never judged him. Had been supportive no matter what happened. Their bond was something both of them cherished but this only threatened to destroy everything they had worked so hard for. Sasuke didn’t want to put his friend through those conflicting feelings. He knew it would just cause the blond distress, and nothing positive would come from it anyways. Naruto cared for him, and Sasuke would always be grateful for that, but it was not the same way Sasuke felt.

And that was ok.

If he could save Naruto from any torment Sasuke would try his hardest to do that, no matter how he felt. Naruto had never seemed too upset over his lack of finding his soulmate anyways. He had never expressed concern over it in the years the two boys had known each other. So if Sasuke just kept his mouth shut, and chest covered, everything would be fine.

Right?

Sasuke sighed and got up off the floor, refusing to overthink the situation. It would only make it worse, and he had already made up his mind. He knew what he had to do, and he would make sure everything stayed the same. His mind was made up and there was no swaying him.

Sasuke went about his room looking for his wallet. They were supposed to go out with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Gaara in just a little while. It was the weekend so they were planning on heading out to eat then go see a movie or something.

As he went about getting ready Sasuke made sure to try and calm down as much as possible. If he acted weird Naruto would know something was up and nag him until he could get whatever it was out of him.

There was a brief knock at the door before Naruto let himself in like he always did, using a towel to dry off his hair from his shower.

“All my jeans are dirty, let me borrow a pair?” he asked.

“Check the closet.”

“Oooo irony, maybe I’ll find someone in there yeah?” Naruto chuckled.

It wasn’t ill intended, Sasuke knew that. And most times Sasuke would probably just knock him over the head and then laugh about it too. But Naruto hadn’t chosen a good time, so Sasuke just grunted and turned away from Naruto before he said something stupid. This was already beginning to be difficult wasn’t it?

“Sasuke? Hey, come on, you know I didn’t mean it in a bad way or anything I’m just play–”

“I know. Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. When are we supposed to meet up with everyone else?”

“Uhm, in like forty-five minutes or something?” Naruto said, diving into Sasuke’s closet, disrupting the neat piles of jeans, pulling out the bottommost one, because of course he would. The stack was left tilting to the side, something Sasuke usually would have nagged at Naruto for, but now he just stared at Naruto as he shook out the jeans, assessing them and apparently deeming them good enough. Yanking them on over his boxers, he shimmied a little to get them up thighs still damp from the shower.

Sasuke tore his gaze away away, looking at Naruto right now was just making this harder.

“Whatcha think?” Naruto said moment later, and Sasuke had to look back. Naruto had turned around, arms thrown to the side as he showed himself off, turning once for him. “My ass looks pretty spectacular yeah?”

Sasuke knew he took a little too long to answer, and the shut up he muttered out had lost all its bite. Naruto just laughed it off, stepped in front of the mirror and checked himself out, apparently pleased with what he saw. But then again, why wouldn’t he, Naruto was absolutely stunning no matter what he wore.

For a moment Sasuke wondered if he should feign some sudden illness to get out of tonight, not sure he was ready to be with Naruto all night  after he’d just found his mark. But chances were that Naruto would cancel along with him, claiming he’d need to make sure Sasuke was fine, and Sasuke figured that being around others was better than just the two of them alone in the apartment.

Where Sasuke wasn’t good around people Naruto thrived in the company of others, outgoing and befriending everyone he met along his path. Naruto would be distracted talking to the others, which meant Sasuke would be left alone to figure out just what he was going to do. He had to make this work somehow, because he wasn’t going to lose Naruto as a friend.

“You ready to leave?” Naruto said, leaning in close to the mirror and tugging on his messy hair, fluffing it up further. Sasuke peered around the room once, spotting his wallet peeking out from the pocket of the hoodie hanging on a hook on the wall. He grabbed it and shrugged to signal that he was as ready as he’d ever get.

Naruto’s face split in a big grin as he threw an arm around Sasuke’s shoulder, steering the two of them out of Sasuke’s room. Sasuke was torn between wanting to throw the arm off or snuggle closer, but they had to stop and put on their shoes by the front door and Naruto’s arm fell off as he stuck his feet in his scuffed sneakers and grabbed a jacket, shrugging it on.

Sasuke put on his own coat, and then they headed outside, walking towards the restaurant they were supposed to meet the others at.

It was just a short distance away so there was no real point in driving there. Then they could all cram into Kiba’s shitty car and drive over to the theatre. Not even ten minutes later they were in the restaurant and Sasuke shot off a text to the group chat and got a table since they were there a bit early. Speaking of which…

“You said we had time, so why did we leave the apartment so early?” Sasuke questioned.

“Ah, well you seemed kinda antsy. Figured the walk would help ya know?” Naruto scratched the back of his head. It was a nervous habit, but Sasuke still felt a content smile form on his face. Trust Naruto to pick up on something no matter how hard he tried to hide it. They just knew each other too well. Their relationship was great the way it was, no point messing with it.

“Hey by the way, about that joke earlier I actually was–”

“Really it’s fine, I’m not mad or anything.”

“Hah, uh I–I know. But what I mean is tha–”

Sasuke was just beginning to raise a brow in question when Naruto was effectively tackled by Kiba, causing all hell to break loose. By the time the two boys had picked each other off the floor Sasuke had started a conversation with Shikamaru about their upcoming exam and forgotten the situation entirely.

Once everyone was seated they ordered their food and had conversation while they were waiting. Most of them had one class or another together so it was mostly swapping stories of what happened in this class and that. Midterms were coming up soon and they were all feeling the stress begin already.

“Gaara and I have aging and society class together for an elective, it’s a demanding class! And I don’t understand a word the professor says, she makes it way too complicated!” Kiba groaned.

“If you read the chapters it wouldn’t be so difficult,” Gaara chimed in.

“Shut up, I get through all my other classes just fine. I don’t read for those either.”

“You make that sound like it’s a good thing,” Shikamaru drawled.

“Shut up I hate all of you. I‘m gonna drop that stupid class.”

The group all either laughed or at least smiled at the brunet’s comment. With Naruto supplying a, “Don’t lie you love us,” before turning to Sasuke. The man had been even more uncharacteristically quiet than usual and it was worrying the blond. But he knew that now wasn’t really the time to be asking either. Instead he let the topic move on until their food was brought to them.

Then once they were all done and had payed, they moved to get seated in Kiba’s car. Gaara had taken the front seat, refusing to be cramped in the back with the other three. This presented yet another problem for Sasuke.

With Shikamaru, Naruto and him they would be sitting almost on top of each other, and Sasuke could feel his heart stuttering at the thought of sitting so close to Naruto. He’d have to make sure Shikamaru took the middle seat, he needed the buffer to be able to breathe and think freely.

He hesitated outside the car, trying to figure out the best way to go about it, when he felt a hand on his arm yanking him towards the passenger side door. Before he knew it Naruto had pulled him into the car, sliding clear across the seats until he was pressed against the door and Sasuke was sitting in the middle. Shikamaru followed moments later, shoving Sasuke closer to Naruto with a huff of air as if it was all a terrible inconvenience.

Sasuke was pressed against Naruto from his calf to his shoulder and could feel how warm Naruto was, always seeming to run a little hotter than anyone else. He tried not to think about how nice it felt being this close to him. Instead he stared stiffly out the windshield, willing Kiba to drive faster so they’d get to the movie theatre and he could get out of the car. He couldn’t think like this, could only focus on Naruto.

He wasn’t even aware of his hand seeking towards the mark on his chest, and he caught himself rubbing softly against it, as if that would do anything. The mark was burned into his skin, it wasn’t going to leave if he tried rubbing it off.

He let his hand drop down to his lap again, fingers curling around the edge of his sweater to stop himself from fidgeting.

Naruto seemed to be totally at ease sitting squashed together in the backseat of the tiny car, chattering away with Kiba, not even noticing how awkward Sasuke was being, and Shikamaru was resting against the window, probably napping.

Naruto shifted in his seat, leaning forward so he could annoy Kiba by whispering something, probably obnoxious, in his ear. Sasuke let out a soft breath when it was only Naruto’s leg pressed against his. He hoped maybe Naruto would stay like this, because it was a little easier to focus now, but it didn’t take long until Kiba shoved his middle finger in Naruto’s face and Naruto fell back against the seat with a laugh. His hand fell on top of Sasuke’s thigh, and if Sasuke had been having a hard time focusing on anything other than Naruto before it became impossible now. Naruto’s hand was so warm against him, even through the heavy denim of his jeans, and Sasuke found himself unable to look away.

Naruto had really nice hands. They looked strong, broader than Sasuke’s own slim hands. His knuckles were sharp edges, and Sasuke knew there was a ragged line of scar tissue down one of them where Naruto had ripped his skin open once, years ago. He could see it just barely, paler than the skin surrounding it, and his own fingers twitched with the sudden need to reach out and trace across it.

A particularly large pothole in the road jolted him out of his thoughts before he made the mistake of actually going through with the idea. But even then Naruto’s hand remained on him. He had noticed Naruto slowly but surely becoming more touchy with him, but he had never really given it  much thought before now. Now that he thought about it what was with the sudden shift anyways? They had known each other for years so maybe Naruto was just getting more comfortable and was lonely or something?

Shikamaru cleared his throat loudly next to him, and he broke his gaze away from Naruto’s hand. How long had he been staring? He looked over at the boy and was confronted with a questioning look, Shikamaru’s gaze flicking from the hand on his thigh and its owner and back to Sasuke’s own. Sasuke merely shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest  in response. He turned forward, hoping his bangs concealed the blush he was sure had tinted his cheeks. Damn his pale skin. Sasuke was determined to stare out the windshield when he nearly jumped out of his skin and hit his head on the roof of the car.

Naruto had started a conversation with Gaara and meanwhile had begun to scare the shit out of Sasuke by brushing his thumb back and forth from where it still occupied his leg. Naruto seemed oblivious to this fact though, and to how Sasuke had reacted. Was he doing it unconsciously? Sasuke’s reaction did earn him a puzzled look from Kiba in the rearview mirror and probably one from Shikamaru as well, but Sasuke refused to even look at the other boy to see if that assumption rang true.

“Sasuke, are you ok there?” Naruto asked, finally picking up on Sasuke’s awkwardness.

No.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Sasuke tried his best to sound normal. But Naruto had picked up on the way he was refusing to look at him. Naruto’s gaze flickered down to his hand, which was still rubbing soothing patterns onto Sasuke’s leg, and his expression turned to one of embarrassment.

Had he not meant to be doing that?

“Ah, sorry…” Naruto said as he removed his hand slowly.

Sasuke admittedly felt a sense of loss, but it was also a relief. One less thing to make him flustered. But Naruto’s dejected reaction didn’t sit well with him either. So he feigned obviousness.

“Huh? Oh, it’s alright.”

Now Naruto’s face morphed to one of confusion. His expression drew blank as he stared at the raven, seemingly looking for something. Eventually he gave Sasuke a blissful smile and returned to his conversation with Gaara.

Sasuke was sure he was staring again. But god why did Naruto have to look at him like that? People always told Sasuke he was attractive, but Naruto was just something else. His hand reached to rub at his mark again. Why did this have to be so damn hard?

He had to get a grip on himself, because Naruto was going to pick up on something being out of the ordinary if Sasuke kept this up. No, he had to make sure to treat Naruto purely as a friend, nothing else. The hand on his thigh hadn’t meant anything, Naruto was just a naturally touchy person, and probably hadn’t even noticed doing it.

Luckily it didn’t take them long to get to the movie theatre, and as soon as Kiba parked and they climbed out of the car and Naruto was no longer pressed up against him Sasuke felt like he could breathe a little freer, think a little clearer.

He followed after the others as they walked towards the front doors, letting Naruto walk ahead with Kiba, the two chattering about which movie they were going to watch. Gaara walked right behind them, and Shikamaru fell into step with Sasuke. It looked like he wanted to say something, but he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and trudged on.

Shikamaru had always been a little too observant, and Sasuke knew that if anyone would catch on to something being up it would be him. Naruto had a tendency to be rather oblivious, so Sasuke would have an easier time faking it around him than he would around Shikamaru. He’d have to be careful to keep up his facade.

The entrance of the movie theatre was teeming with people and they ended up standing at the back, looking up at the screens showing which movies were airing and discussing what to see. Sasuke didn’t really care, so he kept silent. He just shrugged when they asked what he wanted, so when the others decided he just went along, paying for his ticket and following them in the direction of the concession stand. He had never had much of a sweet tooth, but he couldn’t say the same of the rest of them. It was obligatory to spend way too much money on overpriced snacks. He ended up buying a bottle of water, mostly so he’d have something to occupy his hands with so he didn’t fidget too much.

Naruto ended up with a massive bucket of popcorn in one arm, an equally enormous cup of soda in the other, and Twizzlers peeking out of the back pocket of his–Sasuke’s–jeans. If Sasuke didn’t live with Naruto and knew how much food he could consume he would think it excessive. Really, it was a miracle Naruto was still fit.

Sasuke glanced away, suddenly remembering just how fit Naruto was. He had the tendency to run around shirtless during the warm summer months, which quite frankly could be considered a health hazard. He was strong and gorgeous with his golden tan, and Sasuke really wished his mind hadn’t gone there, because now it was hard to not think about just how good-looking he was. And it was not helping him trying to act like he saw Naruto as nothing other than a friend. He bit down on his bottom lip, trying to focus on what they were doing, looking over and seeing Shikamaru pay for his mostly normal-sized bucket of popcorn.

When they were all done they headed in the direction of the right theatre, Sasuke still having no idea what they were about to watch. Even though he’d paid for the ticket he hadn’t even bothered to look at it, just swiped his card.

As soon as the trailers started Sasuke knew he was fucked.

All of them were for horror movies, and they pretty much only showed them when you were already going to watch one. Which would usually be fine, Sasuke usually wasn’t one to mind or get scared all too easily. But the problem once again went back to Naruto.

Naruto hated scary movies.

Actually no, that wasn’t quite right. If he hated them they probably wouldn’t be there right now. More like Naruto was terrified of them, especially if they had anything to do with the paranormal. But at the same time the blond went out of his way to watch movies like that more often than not, it was a love-hate relationship.

Had Sasuke mentioned Naruto was touchy? Because this was only going to make that so much worse. And of course they were sitting next to each other, and Naruto’s go to was definitely going to be Sasuke when the idiot got scared and ultimately clinged to someone for comfort. Sasuke was just going to have to push through this. Shikamaru was on his other side, and he knew that was only going to make the situation more difficult.

Speaking of, the other boy suddenly shifted towards him to quietly speak to him. “You alright there?”

“Huh?” Sasuke answered confusedly.

This time Gaara spoke up, he was on the end beside Shikamaru, and Naruto and Kiba were on the other side, too distracted to pay much attention. “You’ve seemed uncomfortable throughout the day. Did something happen?”

“No, I’m fine.” The answer got Sasuke nothing but two unamused glares. Shikamaru looked ready to press more, but thankfully the movie was starting so they all turned their gazes towards the screen instead.

Sasuke also didn’t miss how Naruto had suddenly gone extremely quiet.

The opening scene was dramatic and filled with ominous music as one could suspect, before a loud boom erupted over the speakers. Naruto reacted with a high pitched squeak that everyone completely expected from him.

Sasuke was not a fan of how Naruto had proceeded to shove his face into his shoulder, his ragged breathes sending waves of hot air over his neck. The movie had just started! How was he going to deal with this for the next two hours! Naruto was probably going to wind up in Sasuke’s lap by the end of it.

Sasuke kept watching the screen, but if someone asked what the movie was about he would have no idea what to answer. He would, however, be able to give a very detailed description of how Naruto’s hands curled around his bicep, how Sasuke’s breath caught in his throat when Naruto squeezed around him, not because it was painful, but because Naruto was so close and his hand was so warm against him, and the continuous touch made it impossible for Sasuke to think about anything other than Naruto.

He did his best, focusing on the screen, trying to figure out just what he had missed out on. The monster, some kind of incorporeal demon or something equally cliched, manifested in the air behind the main characters. Long fingers stretched towards the token “Slutty Girl”, and just as tendrils of black wrapped around her throat Naruto burrowed closer to Sasuke, whimpering against his neck, so close Sasuke could feel Naruto’s lips brush against his skin for a moment.

He dug his fingers into his knees, mouth parting slightly as he sucked in a choked breath, and he knew Naruto would have noticed how he tensed up, because there was just no way he couldn’t with the way he was pressed up against him. Sasuke had no idea what to do, so he just sat there, stiff as a board, watching as the demon choked the life out of the girl on the screen, hoping that through some miracle Naruto had been too terrified to even notice Sasuke’s reaction.

Naruto shifted against him, pulling back slightly, and Sasuke kept his face turned forwards, even though he could feel Naruto’s gaze on him.

“Sasuke, are you okay?” Naruto whispered, and Sasuke knew he couldn’t just ignore him. So he looked towards Naruto, meeting Naruto’s gaze much too close for comfort. He tried to come up with an explanation, but the words caught in his throat. He was left just staring into Naruto’s eyes until it got to be too much even in the dim light from the screen, so he looked away, shoulder lurching up in something reminiscent of a shrug.

For a moment Naruto didn’t do or say anything, but when Sasuke glanced towards him out of the side of his eye he saw a grin on Naruto’s face, and he had no idea how to interpret that.

“Hah!” Naruto said in what was probably supposed to be a whisper but was too loud. Luckily one of the characters on the screen chose the same moment to die violently, so no one turned around to tell them off for talking during the movie. “You’re scared aren’t you?”

Naruto seemed very pleased with the conclusion he had drawn, poking Sasuke’s side teasingly.

Normally Sasuke would have huffed at such an accusation, but he saw it for what it was. An explanation he hadn’t been able to come up with on his own, so he just went along with it.

Naruto didn’t have to know that if Sasuke was scared it had nothing to do with the movie, and

everything to do with the fact that Sasuke was absolutely terrified of losing Naruto from his life. Being this close wasn’t helping anything. He should have tried harder to find a seat that wasn’t next to Naruto, but everyone seemed to have ganged up on him, pushing around until there was only one seat left and Sasuke had been forced to take it and pretend like it hadn’t made his heart thrum in his chest.

“Whatever you say, Naruto,” Sasuke drawled as he shifted his focus back to staring at the screen again. Throughout the rest of the movie Naruto continued to cling to him, and Sasuke continued to uncomfortably pretend that it wasn’t driving him insane. At some point he was lucky enough to be so drawn into his thoughts that the movie had ended without him even noticing.

The boys made their way out of the theatre and everyone but Naruto and Kiba headed to the restrooms to relieve their bladders. After washing his hands, Sasuke stared at himself in the mirror and tried to calm himself down. How much longer could he really keep this up?

It wasn’t that Sasuke thought that he couldn’t keep the physical act of hiding the mark up, but emotionally? He was already so drained and it hadn’t even been a full day yet. Would this get better over time or would it always be this hard?

Sasuke was drawn out of his thoughts for the million and oneth time that day by Shikamaru walking up to the sinks to wash his hands as well.

“So, you wanna talk about what’s been eating at you or are we still going to pretend you’re fine?”

Sasuke glared at Shikamaru through the mirror. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Sasuke turned on the sink again and cupped some water to splash on his face. It was when he moved forward towards his hands that his collar slipped down to show just enough skin in the mirror to allow Shikamaru to see the newly formed mark. To be fair Sasuke was lucky that Naruto wasn’t there and that Shikamaru’s reaction wasn’t  immediately yelling. At least not too loudly.

“Ok, I’m not gonna say I’m surprised. But you have got to be kidding me!”

Sasuke looked up, confused by the shift in tone. “What?”

“Saw the mark?” Gaara asked casually as he also stepped up to the sinks.

“If you knew this whole time you could have said something!” Shikamaru argued.

“I thought it was obvious. It peeked over his collar once or twice, and he kept pawing at it.”

“Shut up! Shut up both of you, Naruto might hear you!” Sasuke whispered harshly through clenched teeth.

“Wait, you haven’t told him yet?” Shikamaru asked incredulously.

“No! And I don’t plan to!” Sasuke’s voice came out louder and harsher than he planned for it to.

The drive back home was awkward and silent. At least it was for Sasuke. By the time Sasuke got to his room he was exhausted. Shikamaru had not been happy about his decision and expressed his own opinions about it. Gaara had just asked him if he was sure about his decision and left it at that. It left Sasuke feeling tired and conflicted.

He sat down on his bed, back against the headboard and his knees tucked to his chest with his head bowed forward. Both Shikamaru and Gaara had seen the mark and realised just what it was, even if Sasuke had tried to hide it. Naruto might not be as observant as either of the two, but it was really just a question of time before he did see it and put two and two together. He’d walk in on Sasuke changing, or barge in to use the toilet when Sasuke was in the shower, or a collar would slip just a little too far down again or any of the numerous other things that could happen.

Truth was that Sasuke had to realize that he wouldn’t be able to keep this from Naruto forever, so he had to make a plan for what to do when it all went to hell and Naruto did see it. He’d have to find a way to make sure they’d still be friends, even with this thing hanging between them.

Sasuke had never actually met anyone who were soulmates before. They were pretty rare, so all he knew was from what he had watched on TV or read about. The sheer number of tear-jerking romance movies made about soulmates were staggering, but Hollywood had never been known for its accuracy. In the movies they were always so happy when they found their soulmate, but Sasuke wasn’t happy, he was terrified.

The rational part of his mind knew that he couldn’t trust the movies, so he would have to find the true answers himself. Even though soulmates were rare they were still real, which meant that there had to be people out there in the same situation he was in.

He leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed his laptop, booting it up and opening his browser. His fingers rested over the keyboard as he tried to figure out just what to type in, hesitating. In the end he decided to start at the most obvious, typing in soulmates.

Not surprisingly the first article to come up was the Wikipedia article, and figuring it was worth a try he opened it, skimming through it. There was a section regarding the various soulmarks one could have, how common they were in the populace and some medical stuff regarding them that didn’t help Sasuke much. Soulmarks could come in any shape, and it was said that they represented something about the bond between the soulmarks, although experts were still not sure to what extent.

Sasuke peeled away his collar, peering down at his own soulmark. A sun and moon combined. Sasuke immediately thought the sun would represent Naruto, bright and warm and golden. Which meant the moon was for him. Cold, and insignificant. The sun gave life but the moon was little more than a giant rock in the sky. Fitting really, but he wasn’t sure what that would say about their bond.

He let go of his collar, turning back to his computer.

Actually it was kind of fitting he supposed. The sun and moon never met. It was an endless cycle of one chasing after the other, but never catching up. But it wasn’t meant to be. How nice. That was a great way to thin–

Knock Knock.

“Sasuke?”

Ok this was not the distraction he had in mind. “Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you?” Naruto asked hesitantly.

Oh god did he already know? Was he here to let Sasuke down gently or something? Sasuke moved to sit at the edge of the bed, closing the laptop as anxiety began to bubble in his stomach. He took a breath and got up to let the other boy in. Naruto gave him a small nervous smile and walked in, keeping his eyes on the ground as he moved to sit on the bed. He looked at Sasuke expectantly until the other moved to sit beside him as well. Yup, Naruto definitely knew. Damn it Shikamaru!

“I have a soulmate.”

“Uh…?” Ok weird way to start conversation. What was the point in that.

“So um, yeah we both know that. A-And I don’t know how important that is to you, but for me…it’s different I–” Oh, now Sasuke knew what he was getting at.

“Naruto, it’s fine.” Sasuke knew it sounded harsh, but he was hurt. He wasn’t surprised, but he wasn’t ready for this. Not yet.

“What? Sasuke what I’m trying to say is–”

“Stop. Look, it’s fine really. We can just ignore the marks and act like everything is still the same! It doesn’t have to change anything, I know you don’t want to–”

“Marks?… As in plural?” Naruto looked completely surprised. His eyes roamed over Sasuke, searching for the mark. When Sasuke realized what was happening, what he had just done, his hand instinctively went to his chest. He curled in on himself, if he thought he was panicking before, he really was now.

Naruto didn’t miss the action. His hand went to grab at Sasuke’s shirt, but the other practically jumped away from him. “Sasuke…show me.”

Sasuke felt panic bubble inside him. He had no idea what he should do, he had misspoken, and now Naruto knew he had a mark. If there was one thing Naruto was it was stubborn. He wouldn’t back away unless there was a good reason, and there was no way to explain it without telling Naruto just what mark was on his chest.

Sasuke scooted away from Naruto, needing the space to breathe, and Naruto seemed to realise as much. But Sasuke could see how it was a struggle for Naruto to stay still. He looked like he was ready to lunge at Sasuke any moment, leg jumping up and down, fingers curled into Sasuke’s comforter as if he needed to physically keep himself in check.

The tension was heavy between them and Sasuke drew in a deep breath, knowing there was really only one thing he could do now. He had to show Naruto the mark, and then he could only hope that it wouldn’t make Naruto resent him.

“Naruto, just… promise you won’t be mad? I don’t expect anything from you, I don’t want things to change.” Sasuke needed Naruto to know this. This wasn’t the romance movies where the marks were revealed and the main characters threw themselves at each other, kissing fiercely and then living happily ever after. This was real life, and real life didn’t work like that. Sometimes the marks were wrong, and Sasuke just hoped Naruto wouldn’t be crushed knowing his soulmark linked to Sasuke and not some pretty girl like he’d probably dreamed about.

“Sasuke,” Naruto started, hesitating as if he didn’t know what to say. “I won’t be mad, just… please show me.”

He was sitting in the same spot, but he was leaning closer now, as if his body just couldn’t quite keep the space he was trying to maintain between them.

Sasuke raised a hand towards the collar of his shirt, hesitating with a finger hooked inside it, searching Naruto’s face for clues as to what he was thinking. Naruto looked tense, his blue eyes firmly locked on Sasuke’s face, only flickering down towards his chest for a split-second before searching out his eyes again.

There was really no reason to hesitate any longer, and Sasuke bit down on his lip as he slowly pulled down the collar past the jut of his collarbone, just beneath the spot where he knew the mark was burned into his skin, clearly visible against his paleness. There would be no mistaking just what it was, identical to Naruto’s own mark. Sasuke looked away, not quite ready to see the look of disappointment he was sure would flash across Naruto’s face before he schooled his features into something else.

He heard a sharp intake of breath as Naruto made out just what he was looking at, and then the mattress shifted as he moved, getting to his knees next to Sasuke, leaning closer. Sasuke was still looking away, but Naruto was so close he could smell him, a fresh earthy scent that made him want to get closer, to burrow his face against soft skin and draw that scent deep into his lungs.

Sasuke turned, still looking down but at least facing Naruto now. He stared at Naruto’s hands, still gripping the sheet of his bed. All Sasuke could think to do was apologize, and he was just about to do that when he saw water begin to fall onto Naruto’s curled fists. Sasuke immediately startled and slowly raised his head, only to see what he had been trying to avoid this whole time. Naruto was upset, he was so upset he had begun to cry and it made an overwhelming guilt tear through Sasuke’s heart. He shifted away, an apology already beginning to fall from his mouth, but it was cut off by Naruto quickly grabbing onto the front of his shirt to keep him in place.

“Is this why?” Naruto’s eyes searched Sasuke’s own, but the only response he got was a look of confusion. Naruto looked…relieved. ”Is this why you’ve been acting so weird with me? I thought,” Naruto hesitated a small laugh escaping quietly through his lips,”I thought you figured it out. All day you had been avoiding me and staring at my mark like you couldn’t stand to even be near me because of it.”

Sasuke tensed. Had he been that obvious? He hadn’t even been conscious of looking at Naruto or his mark like that.”Wait, figured what out?”

Naruto laughed and swiped at his face before reaching out a hand and placing it over  Sasuke’s shirt, right where the mark would be. “For being a genius you can be really stupid sometimes you know that?” Naruto’s thumb brushed across his collarbone soothingly as his smile fell. Naruto’s face changed to one Sasuke couldn’t quite place. Sasuke was just getting more confused by the second.

“I’m still happy about it ya know? Even if you don’t want things to change…I’m happy.”

Naruto’s hand fell from Sasuke, and he turned away from the other. Sasuke was barely able to catch the somber look at the other’s face. Sasuke heard him sigh before getting up to leave.

This time a different type of panic erupted inside of him. There’s no way Sasuke was misreading this right? All of this seemed impossible, but he knew that if he let Naruto walk away right now he was only going to regret it. Maybe the only thing standing in his way was himself. And because of what, because he was scared?

“Screw this,” Sasuke grunted before he got up and practically stomped over to the other boy. He grabbed Naruto’s arm and turned the other around abruptly. Naruto gave him a bewildered look before stopping and waiting for Sasuke to say something. That realization made Sasuke stop sort, what should he say? How should he explain? Actually wait no overthinking is what got him into all this mess.

“Oh fuck it.”

“Wha–” Naruto’s sentence was abruptly cut off by the press of the other’s lips on his own. It took a second, a second too long if you asked Sasuke, but Naruto eventually responded just as eagerly as the other. His hands coming up to grab onto the raven’s face and deepen the kiss further.

Naruto’s lips were plush and soft, and he was as eager at kissing as he was at anything in his life, but Sasuke wouldn’t have it any other way. He just fell into the kiss, let Naruto tilt their heads just a little to the side, and when Naruto’s tongue swept across his lips Sasuke didn’t hesitate to part his lips, letting their tongues meet, soft and warm and perfect.

Suddenly it was impossible to remember just why Sasuke had been so scared when he saw the mark, because right now it felt like this was where they had been heading the entire time they’d known each other. That it was completely natural that they’d grow close enough to be soulmates. It felt right, like Sasuke hadn’t been completely whole before.

A pleasant warmth spread across Sasuke’s chest as they kissed, pulsing from the soulmark in soft waves, making his skin tingle, and he knew Naruto had to be feeling the same from his own mark. As if the marks felt the connection locking between them, soulmates that had found each other.

He wound his arms around Naruto’s neck, feeling the soft strands of his hair between his fingers, and when they finally broke the kiss he pressed his face against Naruto’s neck, breathing in his scent. It smelled like home, warm and pleasant.

Naruto kissed the tip of Sasuke’s ear, then the side of his head, and when Sasuke pulled back a little he kissed his temple, and his forehead too. Sasuke laughed softly, in a way he rarely laughed at all, happy in a way he didn’t think he’d ever felt before.

Their foreheads rested together as they just looked at each other, breathing the same air. Naruto was grinning widely, and Sasuke found himself mirroring it.

“Sasuke,” Naruto murmured, his fingers slowly stroking against Sasuke’s hair as if he couldn’t stop touching. “Why didn’t you tell me we had the same mark?”

Sasuke glanced down for a moment, trying to gather his thought. He wasn’t sure he could put it into words, the fear that Naruto wouldn’t want to be his soulmate, that he’d feel forced into something he didn’t want.

“I didn’t think you’d want to be soulmate with me,” he finally said, voice little more than a whisper. Naruto’s fingers stopped for a moment, and when Sasuke looked up at him again Naruto’s blue eyes were brimming with tears.

Sasuke wanted to say something to stop the tears, but Naruto didn’t let him, just leaned forward and kissed him again, and there were no need for words right then.

A while later they were sitting on Sasuke’s bed, resting up against the headboard, their hands linked together. Sasuke’s thumb traced small circles against Naruto’s soft skin, still amazed that he was allowed to do this now.

His lips still tingled from their kissing, and his mark was still warm against his skin. Naruto’s head was resting on Sasuke’s shoulder, his hair tickling his neck, but he didn’t mind.

“Can I see it again?” Naruto asked suddenly, lifting his head and turning towards Sasuke. Sasuke knew exactly what he was talking about, and merely dragged down the collar of his shirt again, exposing the mark. It was darker in colour now, shifting ever so slightly with each beat of Sasuke’s heart, making the flames licking out of the sun and moon seem almost alive.

“It looks good on you,” Naruto said softly, the pad of a finger tracing across it. Then he lifted his own arm, placing it against Sasuke’s chest so their marks were side by side, pulsing simultaneously, their heartbeats in perfect sync.

It was strange how much could change in a day. He had woken up terrified when he saw the mark on his previously unblemished skin, but now the sight of it only brought him joy. It was as if his fear had vanished the moment Naruto had seen it, as if their kiss had finally locked them together, an unbreakable bond he could feel in his very soul. There were no more worry that Naruto wouldn’t want him as a soulmate. He just knew that this was right, this was how it was always intended to be. He’d loved Naruto for years, and as he would later would find out, Naruto had likewise loved him. And now the marks had brought them together, and nothing could ever pull them apart.

Sometimes the sun and moon did meet, and the resulting eclipse was nothing short of magical.

 


End file.
